
The Kicker
The Kicker is a podcast on the media and the world today. It comes out twice a month, hosted by Josh Hersh and produced by Amanda Darrach for the Columbia Journalism Review. It is available wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Latest episodes

Jan 13, 2017 • 36min
The ethics of BuzzFeed's decision to publish Trump-Russia memos
Did BuzzFeed make the right call by publishing unverified memos detailing Russian efforts to compromise Donald Trump? How is The Undefeated, a new publication by ESPN, tackling this moment in race and politics? What did Trump's first press conference as president-elect tell us about how he'll treat the media going forward? We discuss that and more this week on The Kicker, where CJR's David Uberti is joined by Pete Vernon, Carlett Spike, and Vanessa Gezari.

Jan 6, 2017 • 33min
Fox News and life after Megyn Kelly
What does Fox News' primetime lineup say about its direction under the Trump Administration? Why should we care about the fate of the publishing platform Medium? What's the deal with all these misreported stories about Russia? We discuss that and more this week on The Kicker, where CJR's David Uberti, Nausicaa Renner, and Pete Vernon discuss the week in journalism.

Dec 29, 2016 • 35min
Looking back on a tumultuous year in journalism
What media trends from 2016 were the most alarming? The most encouraging? We discuss that and more this week on The Kicker, where CJR's David Uberti, Nausicaa Renner, and Pete Vernon break down the good, the bad, and the ugly from a tumultuous year in journalism.

Dec 22, 2016 • 28min
Richard Deitsch on the state of sports media
How does the atrophy of local media affect the way we understand sports? Are professional athletes getting more political, or are we just noticing it more? How is ESPN changing its business model? We discuss that and more this week on The Kicker, where CJR's David Uberti and Pete Vernon are joined by Richard Deitsch, a media writer for Sports Illustrated.

Dec 16, 2016 • 30min
Thomas Jefferson on fake news
Should a bad tweet be a fireable offense for reporters? What can the history of fake news tell us about the challenge facing journalism today? Who are the biggest media names to switch jobs in the post-election shuffle? We discuss that and more this week on The Kicker, where David Uberti is joined by Nausicaa Renner and Pete Vernon.

Dec 8, 2016 • 34min
Michael Rosenwald on the enduring primacy of print
Should mainstream journalists be engaging more with the right-wing press? Was print media too quick to jump on the digital bandwagon? Why do foreign news outlets seem to be getting all the scoops about the Trump transition? We discuss all that and more on The Kicker, which is guest-hosted this week by CJR Managing Editor Vanessa Gezari. Vanessa is joined by CJR Tow Editor Nausicaa Renner and CJR Delacorte Fellow Shelley Hepworth, along with special guest Michael Rosenwald, a reporter for The Washington Post.

Dec 1, 2016 • 27min
Emily Bell on Facebook and fake news
Does Facebook need to clean up its act? Can newsrooms overcome the culture clash between tech and editorial? And what about coverage of those Trump tweets? We discuss that and more on The Kicker, where David Uberti is joined this week by CJR Associate Editor Nausicaa Renner and special guest Emily Bell, director for The Tow Center for Digital Journalism.

Nov 23, 2016 • 33min
What we're thankful for in journalism this Thanksgiving
David Uberti is joined by CJR's Nausicaa Renner and Pete Vernon to discuss internet trolls, CJR's massive new oral history of campaign coverage, and what we're thankful for in journalism this Thanksgiving.

Nov 18, 2016 • 28min
Fake news and Trump's trashing of political norms
CJR's Kyle Pope, David Uberti, and Nausicaa Renner discuss what publications' post-election subscription surge means for journalism, Donald Trump's unwillingness to establish a protective press pool, and Facebook's inability to police fake news.